


Broken crown

by killerweasel



Series: Crimson Splatters [2]
Category: Sherlock - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-19 00:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just because John's not a genius doesn't mean he's stupid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken crown

Title: Broken crown  
Fandom: _Sherlock_  
Characters: John Watson, Jim Moriarty  
Word Count: 800  
Rating: PG-13  
A/N: AU after _The Hounds of Baskerville_ and the events of [Crimson splatters](http://archiveofourown.org/works/567050)  
Warnings: none  
Summary: Just because John's not a genius doesn't mean he's stupid.

Of course the flat would be the first place Moriarty would go after the trial. John doubted very much Moriarty would simply go kill Sherlock. That wasn’t what Moriarty did. He was probably going to make some sort of menacing, evil villain type threat. This would intrigue Sherlock and then the two of them would start some new game. John muttered to himself as the cab pulled up in front of 221B.

When John got out, he could see a very large man lurking in front of the door. He looked like the same goon who had picked up Moriarty up after John had given the man medical attention. Taking a deep breath, he marched to the door. “Move.”

“I can’t let you inside.” The goon used his height to loom over John, trying to make his body look even larger than it was. “Boss said no one can go in until after he’s done talking with the other guy.”

“Get out of my way or I’m going to shoot you in your kneecap.” John’s hand slid into his pocket. The goon stared at him for a moment before shuffling a little to the right. “Thank you.” John pushed his way through the door and made his way inside. He could hear voices coming from upstairs, but couldn’t make out what they were saying.

He wasn’t stupid enough to go upstairs and interrupt the two of them. Doing so would probably throw Sherlock into a massive sulk and ruin whatever it was the two of them were plotting out. It was better to just let them finish. John leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. Moriarty would have to come out eventually.

It turned out he didn’t have to wait too long. He heard the door open, but didn’t move from where he was. His presence must have surprised Moriarty because the other man paused halfway down the steps. It wasn’t for very long, but John noticed. Or maybe he was supposed to notice. He hated dealing with geniuses, evil or not. They gave him a bloody headache.

“Doctor.” Moriarty jumped over the final step, landing in front of John. “I told Bob not to let anyone in and yet, here you are.”

“Bob prefers having two working kneecaps.” John stared at the other man for a moment. “Congratulations on winning your case.”

The corners of Moriarty’s mouth turned up in the hint of a smile. “It was such fun, wasn’t it?”

John snorted before looking serious. “You’re going to do something, something big. It has to be big in order to top that farce in the courtroom.” He could feel Moriarty studying him the same way Sherlock did. “It will have something to do with Sherlock because it always has something to do with Sherlock. You think he’s like you, but you’re wrong. You might be similar in a number of ways, but you’re not a matched set.”

Something crossed over Moriarty’s face. It was there and gone so quickly John thought he might have imagined it. He pressed on. “Whatever you’re going to do, Moriarty, it won’t be enough for you. Nothing is ever enough, is it? That’s how the two of you are alike. He needs to do things all the time, needs to keep himself distracted, needs to be busy because if he doesn’t, the boredom rises up and swallows him whole. And that’s when he gets destructive.”

John pushed himself away from the wall, closing the distance between the two of them. “He stabs dead pigs with harpoons, shoots the walls of the flat, blows up things in the kitchen and it doesn’t help. It isn’t a long-term solution. But you, you go so much bigger, don’t you? A murder here, an exploded building there, or breaking into three very important places at the same time... You have to keep going bigger because once it wears off the boredom looms so much larger than it did the last time around. Tell me I’m wrong.”

He saw Moriarty’s fingers clench into fists as the other man closed his eyes. “You have no idea what that’s like, Doctor Watson.” Moriarty sighed. When he opened his eyes again, Moriarty looked much older than he was. “As much as I would love to continue this discussion, I really should be going.”

As Moriarty started to turn towards the door, John grabbed his arm. Moriarty’s eyes focused on John’s fingers. “Take me with you.” Moriarty blinked at him. “I mean it. Take me with you and we can continue this. Make me understand.”

“You’re serious.” The smile on Moriarty’s face actually looked real, not fake. “Have you eaten yet?” John shook his head. “How does Italian food sound to you, Doctor?”

“Good. And please, call me John.”


End file.
